HonestGamers is an independent gaming site founded by Jason Venter in late 1998. Our content is produced almost exclusively by unpaid volunteers who love games and writing too much to stop spending time doing what they love. Would you like to join the team, or do you want to learn more about the process? Great! Get started by reading the Q&A that follows. It should answer most or all questions you might have. We look forward to getting to know you!

Who can write for HonestGamers?

Everyone is welcome to contribute content to HonestGamers. If we like it, we'll post it. This is the option that works for a lot of people. If you find that you love writing about video games almost as much as you like playing them--which we assume is a LOT--that's a good reason to write for HonestGamers on a more regular and intimate basis, as a freelancer. Taking that next step is a bit more complicated, and requires staff approval.

Why should I freelance for HonestGamers?

If you sign up as a freelancer, we'll try to keep you as busy playing and writing about games as you have the time to be. You'll spend your spare time playing games and sharing your opinions with our audience (which we hope will grow steadily larger as a result of your efforts). We encourage you to interact with readers on blogs, on forums, and in the comments section that follows each new review you post. When we can, we'll provide you with review copies of games, and we'll edit your initial drafts before they go live on the site so you can present your ideas in their most polished form.

What will you pay me to write for HonestGamers?

In general, we can't pay you to write for the site. Most months, Jason loses money just paying for the hosting fees. Ads don't pay nearly enough to make the site profitable, which is why current staff work as volunteers. However, you may receive monetary compensation for some content, on a case-by-case basis, when that content is likely to generate sufficient ad revenue. Additionally, you can link to your Patreon account (if you have one) from your reviews and blog posts, using a feature that's baked into the site. If the site grows, it's possible that exposure will produce revenue for your work that goes directly to your pocket.

Are you making any efforts to make the site profitable in the future?

We're trying to build a team of highly motivated and skilled volunteers who can produce quality content regularly, so our audience will grow and the site can start to generate revenue. If that occurs, we can finally pay our most prolific contributors, and the site can grow organically. That can only happen when we have the right talent on board, though, which is why we'll be spending so much energy on recruitment in coming months.

I can write on a blog of my own and get plenty of exposure, and probably even free games. Why should I work my tail off for someone else who isn't even paying me?

We want to introduce more readers to more unique voices and games. That's a bigger project than any one person can manage. What usually happens is that someone who is working alone just duplicates the efforts of numerous others who preceded them. By joining a team, you can ensure that a wider variety of games are ultimately covered, and you can meet readers who might not otherwise have discovered your work. As more exciting voices come together in one place, it becomes easier for everyone involved to entertain and inform a wider audience. Besides that, we offer a number of site features that make it easier to undertake and manage ambitious projects.

What sort of features and tools does HonestGamers offer its writers?

User blogs are built into the site. You can manage your own image database, and your posts can appear on the site's front page. If your account is approved, you can also contribute personal content such as opinion pieces. Our reviews are also linked from around the Internet, and you may receive additional exposure on social media. If you write guides, note that we have a custom CMS to make it easy to put together guides for your favorite games, with screenshots and design features that help them to perform well in Google search while looking attractive on both desktop and mobile devices. We'll do our part to help your work reach the audience it deserves!

What sort of games can I write about on the site?

The games database includes more than 37,000 titles, at last count. We happily post reviews for games appearing on platforms ranging from the Atari 2600 to the Nintendo Switch and all points in between, so the short answer is that you can cover virtually anything. We do host only one guide per game, and we only need one staff review for each game, as well. However, you can review whatever you like and post it as a reader review, if someone else already covered it as a staff member or freelancer. We love second opinions. And you can talk about any game you like on your blog, naturally.

Are there any positions in particular that you're hoping to fill?

We have a small team of writers, but we're looking to add as many qualified individuals to that team as possible, in virtually all areas. Right now, we're looking for a social media wizard to take over those duties, and we need writers to produce the following types of content:

Retro game reviews, especially for classic consoles

Console/handheld game reviews

Nintendo Switch game revews

PC reviews (particularly games from indie developers and publishers)

Guides (you'll need screen capture hardware)

All writers should be prepared to interact with the community on their own blogs, and on the forums. We want contributors who are invested in the site and interested in bringing new life to the community.

How do I apply?

Use the Contact form to express interest. When you contact us, please include links to some of your most recent relevant work. For example, link 2 or 3 reviews if you plan to write reviews, or a couple of guides if you are interested in writing guides. Link to a few blog posts you have made previously, if that's useful. If you are active on Twitter, please provide your handle or a link to your profile page. Also, let us know what particular games you are most anxious to cover.

What if I have other questions or concerns this page hasn't addressed?

You can reach the site's editor-in-chief directly at jason AT honestgamers DOT com. Please give your email an obvious title so that it doesn't get buried in a spam folder somewhere (including "HonestGamers" in the title is always a good bet).

Now that you've learned how you can get involved, take a look at some of the people who have taken their involvement to the next level. These are the people who work tirelessly to make sure that the site stays online, updated, and organized.

Gary Hartley (Editor)

We wish we could survive without EmP, but he's long since become a necessary evil we endure rather than enjoy. We thought we got rid of him once, but he quickly rose back to power, like a British Mickey Rourke, just with laser breath and nasty habits like constant complaining and overt meanness. When he's not penning reviews on anything from cutting-edge next-gen titles to long-forgotten Mega CD games (he makes us refer to all consoles by their PAL name and spell 'colour' with the 'u') he can be found lurking in dark corners with a sly smirk and what we fear might be a tin of gasoline and a box of matches. Please help us keep him busy. Our homes may depend on it!

Jason Venter (Editor-in-Chief)

Jason's bio is the best of all, and the shortest too! Clearly he's not over-compensating for anything.

Joseph Shaffer (Editor)

We're pretty sure that JoeTheDestroyer was created in the '90s when a truckload of toxic waste collided with a video rental store. After rising from the resultant pool of sludge, he waited until 2010 to begin typing reviews of ancient and/or obscure video games and movies. While selecting a venue for his onslaught, he happened upon our site and we haven't been rid of him since.

Marc Golding (Editor at Large)

Those who have contributed much to the site at all in recent times have probably run into Masters. When he's not updating listings (you know, the boring part of working on the site) and the like, he's providing critiques and making the site a better place to be in general. Always quick to lend a helping hand when it's needed, Marc has made it clear that there are many wannabes but only one master.

Rob Hamilton (Editor)

When someone like overdrive asks if he can join site staff, you have to ask yourself the same question he did: "Why not?" So when overdrive did ask, our answer was the very same question: "Why not?" It doesn't hurt that overdrive brings with him some insane knowledge about old shooters and various other scraps of the retro realm. It doesn't hurt at all!

Rhody Tobin (Editor)

Rhody likes to press the keys on his keyboard. Sometimes the resulting letters form strings of words that kind of make sense when you think about them for a moment. Most times they're just random gibberish that should be treated as such. Mauve ball peen wobble wobble glurk.

Sho (Editor at Large)

Sho brings with him a true knowledge of some of the most obscure games around, as well as a passion for sharing that information with others adrift in the sea of knowledge that is the Internet (note: Jason created that horrific metaphor, not poor sho). As such, he's a natural for an HG staff position. Look to him when no one else knows. He probably has the answers.

Zigfried (Editor at Large)

The username 'zigfried' has perhaps never been more appropriate than it is in the case of our beloved staff member, Zigfried. Named after the enigmatic Zigfried from Earnest Evans, this reviewing tour de force knows games. He's been playing games old and new for years now, so pull up a chair and get to know one of the most unique, powerful voices reviewing games today. Signed, Zigfried Jason.

Prolific Freelancers

Below is a partial list of the freelancers and past staff members who have most frequently contributed staff reviews to the site throughout the years. Those listed below have posted 10 or more such reviews.

If you are a past contributor who meets the qualifications and you would like your name to be added to the above list, let us know and we'll fix that. We don't want to deprive you of your due recognition!